Koh Phangan & Koh Tao

Ahh good times. After the blast that was Phi Phi we made the pilgrimage to the party island of Koh Phangan, which is where they host the monthly full-moon parties. We missed the party, but after reviewing the video footage which was on display (you can buy dvd's) I did not regret our inattendence. On the TV screen were images of a plethora of idiots, hooting and hollering under the spotlight of the video camera. There seemed to be an abundance of sweaty shirtless guys convulsing in a manner which is reffered to as 'dancing'. Although we missed this strange ancient mating ritual, where the male attempts to woo the female by impressing her with his ability to digest large amounts of alcoholic liquids and proceeds to behave poorly and also urinate frequently, getting louder and rowdier until the female can no longer resist his advances, assuming that the male is able to control his body's needs for regurgitation and unconsciousness, (sorry got a little side tracked!) there were still a number of events to attend and participate in the mating game.

There was a nice little party by the waterfall which was good dirty fun, we drank alot and got carried away alot also. Safe to say I don't remember too much, but Tony's photos proved to be most interesting and informative. We stayed on one of the north beaches, which was nice and quiet; however not reccomended if you are partying on the main beach and then have to ride in the back of a ute over pot-hole ridden island roads after a long night of mushroom shakes and Sangsom whisky buckets. So after a few days on Phangan we split from our travelling buddies (amicably) and headed to the smaller, more pristine Koh Tao for some quality time together: holding hands, candlelit dinners and so forth, before Tony departed for the UK.

Koh Tao is a brilliant little island, with perfect water, cool people and friendly locals; however our arrival coincided with the arrival of shitty weather. The catamaran ride to the island over choppy seas proved to be a vomit-inducing experience for us both, with the reward of constant rain once we arrived. The lack of sunshine was a major inconvenience for us, especially as Tony's tan was not up to the standard required for bragging to his pasty housemates in England. Despite this we had a really good time, mostly due to the lovely locals who took a shining to us; in my case a sexy Thai lady, in Tony's a sexy Thai lady-boy, or more appropriately a sexy Thai lady-MAN!!! Ha ha ha, the image of Tony on the back of her motorbike brings a very large smile to my face. If Thailand had a rugby team, she would have been a front-rower for sure.

But seriously, they were both great fun, we met on the night of my lady's birthday party which she invited us to where they fed us, got us drunk and played a little kiss-the-tourist. We both had a good time, however it is feasible that I had a better time than Tony as his motorbike driver to the night-club was too drunk and crashed his bike onto the sidewalk. I'm sure his spirits rose though when his adoring lady-man proceeded to pull him off the ground and drive him to safety (how romantic!). After a couple of days it was back to Bangkok via a flooded Koh Samui (They had to shut down the airport, chaos) for the departure of the big fella back to England, and myself to the homeland (my other one) to meet the old folks. I anticipate that things will be much quieter as my parents don't like the nightlife as much as Tony. I should be able to get much more sleep, eat like a champ, and spend much less money, which is a wonderful thing cause I do enjoy travelling and apparently it requires the possesion of funds to do so.

Stoned lazing at Phangan

One of the champs at Koh Tao, birthday girl in the back

Heavy rains at Koh Tao

Floods at Koh Samui

Love the aerial photos.

Another shot of the Israeli's, for the hell of it

Koh Phi Phi

Koh Phi Phi is a wicked little island, most people go for the diving but there is plenty to keep you entertained. We made friends with this local we renamed "Playboy" because he always had foreign girls chasing after him. One night he took 2 Japanese girls on a 'night fishing' trip and brought beer and had a bbq, what a legend, he said the girls cried when they had to leave. We met the Playboy after we kayaked out to the little island off the main beach where they filmed the Leo movie, it was a really long way and he rescued us on his tour boat cause it was dark and we were a long way from the shore. Cool day though, stopped on Monkey island where these cheeky little bastards stole my camera out of the kayak. It would be gone now but after they figured out it wasn't food they gave it back. If you ever go to Phi Phi there is an all you can eat seafood barbeque for 200 baht ($7) which is incredible, we ate like champs.

We also did a cliff jump from 15 meters I think, not sure exactly how high... high enough to make me soil myself though. A highlight of our time their was when this old crazy American guy took us on a boat trip around the whole island at sunset, was so beautiful (especially cause he passed around a doobie to everyone, driver included). The playboy gave us the hot tips on good islands to visit and places to snorkel, had some really nice days. The other highlight was having some fun with these 3 sexy Israelis, check the photos! Phi Phi was brilliant, definately the coolest place so far. We are moving off to Koh Phangan where they have those full-moon parties. Stay tuned for the next episode of...

'Dave Trek' (theme music playing)


Getting to know the locals.

Me & 3 sexy Israeli girls, good old fashioned fun

Tony & the playboy

Ugly monkeys/sexy girl

Me & Josie on a longboat

The dirty monkey who stole my camera

Crazy Phuket!

Me and the original bad boy Tony reunited to tear shit up! First up we trecked down to Phuket, took way too long due to numerous bus changes that the travel agent forget to mention; a good 21 hours after we left we arrived at Patong beach. The only good thing about the trip was that we met Rick James the champ and Frenchie the nurse on the bus, a Canadian guy and a French Canadian girl whom we are still travelling with. Phuket is a crazy place, it is very developed and modern looking; a lot like Noosa or something. The main difference being that it is populated with an abundance of Thai whores! These in turn attract many over aged white men who cant get any back home, these guys are repulsive; overweight, under-moraled, sunburnt losers with spare cash and no game. At first it was kind of funny but the more you see these pitiful guys with pretty Thai girls the more offensive it becomes.

Four nights was probably just enough, I had a great time; it took me a while to figure out that all the girls on the island were for sale so for a while I felt like a rock star! I just thought the girls were loving me! We went out on the first night and got blasted and wandered around the bars, all the girls were all over us, saying things like "Hey sexy boy, come here!", and even grabbing us in inappropriate places. Was great fun for a while, until you realise its not your winning personality that they are after. (Tip - don't develop feelings for hookers)

We met some cool local girls, one of them invited us to her birthday party where they fed us and got us drunk, it ended badly because we got too loose. Apparently they don't like it when you get with a few of their friends... go figure (I thought friends share). The rest of our time at Phuket was spent motorbiking around the island, eating great food, going to the zoo, flirting with local girls, ra-ra-ra. Tony got really sunburnt and sick though, so he was out of action for a couple of days. We are off to Koh Phi Phi where they filmed "The Beach" tommorow, should be lovely... hopefully more sexy foreigners and less pieces of fat old Eurotrash. Wish us luck...



Me & Rick James

There was something strange about these chicks... couldn't say what though?

Bless the sketchy zoo, can get real close. This guy was trying to bite my foot through the fence. Was exhilarating.

Our 4-legged friend. He was cool & talented: he painted, played a harmonica, danced, shot basketballs and kicked goals too! Legend.

Tony & our new peeps

These girls work hard for the money! Never seen booty shaking quite like it.

Koh Samed

Just checking in. Spent the last 5/6 days on Koh Samet island; swimming, eating, drinking and sleeping, was hard work. Now I'm back in Bangkok, tanned & rested waiting for Tony to arrive. Not too many stories from the last few days, made a few friends: a Thai guy who has been living in the Netherlands for the last 10 years and a couple of German girls and some guys from Sweden and Ireland. The Thai guy was cool (I think he was after my ass though!) showed me some of the secluded beaches on the island and took me one day to a Buddhist celebration on the mainland. It was to celeberate the end of a 3 month period in which the monk's do not leave the temple, all Thai buddhists do it when they turn 20. Everyone gets together and cooks a shitload of food, which you can walk around and eat for free. Then afterwards they all head to the top of the mountain where there are some impressive shrines and join in in group prayers/chants. I tried to do it but it was a bit boring as I didnt know what they were saying. Otherwise I just layed low and relaxed, starting to get the hang of this whole travelling thing. Got some photos for this and the last update. Peace.

Monk's chowing down

That 7 headed snake god. You know. The one Buddha sits on sometimes.

Some good-looking guy who was there

Nice Kids

Thailand!

Im here in Thailand, trying to find my travelling feet. After I flew into Bangkok I had a crazy couple of days; no idea what I was doing or who to trust; ended up getting ripped off in a few scams. If I can give some advice, if you've never been to the place before, pace yourself; spend some time getting adjusted to the local way of doing things and getting good information (I didnt even get a guidebook.. idiot). But you probably wouldnt be as stupid as me and rush straight into things without a clue. In Bangkok the people are warm and friendly... because they want to scam you out of your cash money!

The first there was an Asahi promotion on Kaosarn road, so the street was packed with locals and foreigners checking out heaps of Thai bands; 'Taste the Synth' was the slogan. Macked out with some locals and tried to get the lowdown on the place, the girl at the guesthouse said she had a crush on me, so I was stoked the locals were feeling the half-breed flavour. My first day a Tuk-Tuk driver rode me for all my cash, took me to tourist stores where he gets a kickback, also some shrines, the golden mountain for views, then to his place for food. That night went out with a local guy I met: Mr Mon, he was a super nice 40 year old dude who invited me for drinks for his friends birthday at a local night spot. The Tuk-Tuk driver tagged along, they were all very warm and hospitable; gave me lots of food and whisky, even a lottery ticket and generally opened up to me. I was touched by their kindness and generosity and generally trusted them which was a mistake.

The night went on and we got drunk, they took me to some very interesting places; a local joint for late-night food and beers, also this huge night club where there would have been a thousand Thais partying to jiggy music (I was impressed by the sexy Thai girls booty dancing on the floor and on the big screens). At one point in the night I was subjected to a scam but didnt realise till later; I dont want to say too much about it, other than it was probably worth it!

The next day I sat down to look at my finances and realised how much money I'd actually spent and decided to head to a beach and lay low for till Tony arrives. So I'm writing from Koh Samed an island not far from Bangkok where things are quiet. I can relax, read, get my head together, and generally take it easy for a while. I've restricted my spending for the next few weeks to compensate for my crazy time in Bangkok. Definately learned more a few lessons since I left (it's a steep fucking learning curve). Im paying for it now but hopefully I have learned some sort of lesson and it won't happen again. Ill post again soon with some photos. Take care, wish me luck, Ill be praying to Buddha tommorow to help me out.

Apparently the beer is fuckin' good.